Method for Controlling Information Processing System, Information Processing System and Information Processing Program

1. A method for controlling an information processing system which includes a first storage apparatus and a first information processing apparatus that accesses the first storage apparatus installed on a first site, a second storage apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that accesses the second storage apparatus installed on a second site, and a third storage apparatus and a third information processing apparatus that accesses the third storage apparatus installed on a third site, the method comprising the steps of: communicatively connecting the first, second and third information processing apparatuses by a first network; communicatively connecting at least two pairs of ones of the first, second and third storage apparatuses by a second network; configuring the first, second and third information processing apparatuses in a cluster for control; and setting one of the first, second and, third storage apparatuses as a replication source storage apparatus, and the other two of the storage apparatuses as replication destination storage apparatuses, wherein said cluster is implemented by cluster software installed in each of said information processing apparatuses, wherein each cluster software installed in each information processing apparatus, being executed by said information processing apparatus, monitors operation of each of said information processing apparatuses, and when a failure occurs in any one of said information processing apparatuses, informs information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatus and the storage apparatuses of the failure and initiates execution of failover from one of the information processing apparatuses to another one of the information processing apparatuses so that operations normally performed by the failed information processing apparatus are transferred to one of the information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatuses, wherein, upon receiving a data write request from one of the information processing apparatuses, the replication source storage apparatus stores data, the replication source storage apparatus sends the data to the two replication destination storage apparatuses, and upon receiving the data from the replication source storage apparatus, the two replication destination storage apparatuses store the data, such that a copy of the data stored in the replication source storage apparatus is stored in the two replication destination storage apparatuses, wherein when a failover is executed from one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses to another of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, settings of each storage apparatuses as set forth in a management table stored in each of said storage apparatuses are automatically changed such that the replication source storage apparatus is switched to serve as a replication destination storage apparatus and one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses is switched to serve as a replication source storage apparatus, and wherein said settings as set forth in the management table of each of said storage apparatuses indicates whether each of said storage apparatuses is functioning as the replication source storage apparatus or one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses and in which mode, synchronous or asynchronous, of remote copy each of said storage apparatuses is operating with respect to a corresponding storage apparatus.

2. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein, when the failover is executed from one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses to another of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, at least one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses makes a notification of the failover to one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses which is accessed by the at least one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, and the one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses which receives the notification of the failover makes a notification of the failover to other of the storage apparatuses such that each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses executes a process to change the settings.

3. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 2 , wherein each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses stores information for specifying the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus, and the other two storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, and the process to change the setting includes a process to change the information.

4. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

5. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to a first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, and the data is indirectly sent to a second one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses through the first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

6. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein, upon automatically changing the settings, a control in which the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses is changed to a control in which the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to a first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, and the data is indirectly sent to a second one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses through the first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

7. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus sends to the information processing apparatus a completion notification for the data write request after confirming that the data has been written in the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

8. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus sends to the information processing apparatus a completion notification for the data write request regardless of whether or not the data has been written in the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

9. The method for controlling an information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein a data storage region of each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses is managed in units of logical volumes that are logically set on the data storage region, and the logical volumes of the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus are associates with the logical volumes of each of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, wherein the control to store the copy of the data that is stored in the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus in the other two storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses is conducted through making contents of the correlated logical volumes consistent with one another.

10. An information processing system comprising: a first storage apparatus and a first information processing apparatus that accesses the first storage apparatus installed on a first site; a second storage apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that accesses the second storage apparatus installed on a second site; a third storage apparatus and a third information processing apparatus that accesses the third storage apparatus installed on a third site; a module that communicatively connects the first, second and third information processing apparatuses by a first network, communicatively connects at least two pairs of ones of the first, second and third storage apparatuses by a second network, and manages the first, second and third information processing apparatuses configured in a cluster; a module that sets one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses as a replication source storage apparatus, and the other two of the storage apparatuses as replication destination storage apparatuses, wherein said cluster is implemented by cluster software installed in each of said information processing apparatuses, wherein each cluster software installed in each information processing apparatus, being executed by said information processing apparatus, monitors operation of each of said information processing apparatuses, and when a failure occurs in any one of said information processing apparatuses, informs information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatus and the storage apparatuses of the failure and initiates execution of failover from one of the information processing apparatuses to another one of the information processing apparatuses so that operations normally performed by the failed information processing apparatus are transferred to one of the information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatuses, a module that performs a control such that, upon receiving a data write request from one of the information processing apparatuses, the replication source storage apparatus stores data, the replication source storage apparatus sends the data to the two replication destination storage apparatuses, and upon receiving the data from the replication source storage apparatus, the two replication destination storage apparatuses store the data, such that a copy of the data stored in the replication source storage apparatus is stored in the two replication destination storage apparatuses; and a module that performs a control such that, when a failover is executed from one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses to another of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, settings of each storage apparatus as set forth in the management table stored in each of said storage apparatuses are automatically changed such that the replication source storage apparatus is switched to serve as a replication destination storage apparatus and one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses is switched to serve as a replication source storage apparatus, wherein said settings as set forth in the management table of said of said storage apparatuses indicates whether each of said storage apparatuses is functioning as the replication source storage apparatus or one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses and in which mode, synchronous or asynchronous, of remote copy each of said storage apparatuses is operating with respect to a corresponding storage apparatus.

11. The information processing system according to claim 10 , wherein, when the failover is executed, at least one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses makes a notification of the failover to one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses which is accessed by the at least one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, and the one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses which receives the notification of the failover makes a notification of the failover to other of the storage apparatuses such that each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses executes a process to change the settings.

12. The information processing system according to claim 11 , wherein each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses stores information for specifying the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus, and the other two storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, and the process to change the setting includes a process to change the information.

13. The information processing system according to claim 10 , wherein the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

14. The information processing system according to claim 10 , wherein the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to a first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, and the data is indirectly sent to a second one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses through the first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

15. The information processing system according to claim 10 , further comprising a control module that, upon automatically changing the settings, switches a control in which the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses to a control in which the data is directly sent from the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus to a first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, and the data is indirectly sent to a second one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses through the first one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

16. The information processing system according to claim 10 , wherein the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus sends to the information processing apparatus a completion notification for the data write request after confirming that the data has been written in the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

17. The information processing system according to claim 10 , wherein the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus sends to the information processing apparatus a completion notification for the data write request regardless of whether or not the data has been written in the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses.

18. The information processing system according to claim 10 , wherein a data storage region of each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses is managed in units of logical volumes that are logically set on the data storage region, and the logical volumes of the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus are associates with the logical volumes of each of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses, wherein the control to store the copy of the data that is stored in the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source storage apparatus in the other two storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destination storage apparatuses is conducted through making contents of the correlated logical volumes consistent with one another.

19. A program stored on a storage medium for operating an information processing system which includes: a first storage apparatus and a first information processing apparatus that accesses the first storage apparatus installed on a first site; a second storage apparatus and a second information processing apparatus that accesses the second storage apparatus installed on a second site; a third storage apparatus and a third information processing apparatus that accesses the third storage apparatus installed on a third site; a module that communicatively connects the first, second and third information processing apparatuses by a first network, communicatively connects at least two pairs of ones of the first, second and third storage apparatuses by a second network, and manages the first, second and third information processing apparatuses configured in a cluster; a module that sets one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses as a replication source storage apparatus, and the other two of the storage apparatuses as replication destination storage apparatuses, wherein said cluster is implemented by cluster software installed in each of said information processing apparatuses, wherein each cluster software installed in each information processing apparatus, being executed by said information processing apparatus, monitors operation of each of said information processing apparatuses, and when a failure occurs in any one of said information processing apparatuses, informs information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatus and the storage apparatuses of the failure and initiates execution of failover from one of the information processing apparatuses to another one of the information processing apparatuses so that operations normally performed by the failed information processing apparatus are transferred to one of the information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatuses, a module that performs a control such that, upon receiving a data write request from one of the information processing apparatuses, the replication source storage apparatus stores data, the replication source storage apparatus sends the data to the two replication destination storage apparatuses, and upon receiving the data from the replication source storage apparatus, the two replication destination storage apparatuses store the data, such that a copy of the data stored in the replication source storage apparatus is stored in the two replication destination storage apparatuses, a module that performs a control such that, when a failover is executed from one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses to another of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, settings of each storage apparatus as set forth in a management table stored in each of said storage apparatuses are automatically changed such that the replication source storage apparatus is switched to serve as a replication destination storage apparatus and one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses is switched to serve as a replication source storage apparatus, the program when executed causes said information processing system to perform the steps of: when the failover is executed, a allowing at least one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses to make a notification of the failover to one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses which is accessed by the at least one of the first, second and third information processing apparatuses, wherein said settings as set forth in the management table of said of said storage apparatuses indicates whether said each of said storage apparatuses is functioning as the replication source storage apparatus or one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses and in which mode, synchronous or asynchronous, of remote copy each of said storage apparatuses is operating with respect to a corresponding storage apparatus.

20. The program for operating an Information processing system according to claim 19 , wherein the one of the first, second and third storage apparatuses which receives the notification of the failover makes a notification of the failover to other of the storage apparatuses such that each of the first, second and third storage apparatuses executes a process to change the settings.

21. An information processing system comprising: three storage apparatuses installed on three sites; three information processing apparatuses that are accessible to the three storage apparatuses, respectively, and that are configured in a cluster, wherein said cluster is implemented by cluster software installed in each of said information processing apparatuses, wherein each cluster software installed in each information processing apparatus, being executed by said information processing apparatus, monitors operation of each of said information processing apparatuses, and when a failure occurs in any one of said information processing apparatuses, informs information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatus and the storage apparatuses of the failure and initiates execution of failover from one of the information processing apparatuses to another one of the processing apparatuses so that operations normally performed by the failed information processing apparatus are transferred to one of the information processing apparatuses other than the failed information processing apparatuses, wherein one of the storage apparatuses is set as a replication source and the other two of the storage apparatuses are set as replication destinations, and the two storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destinations manage a copy of data stored in the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source, wherein, in association with an execution of a failover among the information processing apparatuses, settings of each storage apparatuses as set forth in a management table stored in each of said storage apparatuses are automatically changed such that the storage apparatus that is set as the replication source functions as a replication destination, and one of the storage apparatuses that are set as the replication destinations functions as a replication source, wherein said settings as set forth in the management table of each of said storage apparatuses indicates whether each of said storage apparatuses is functioning as the replication source storage apparatus or one of the two replication destination storage apparatuses and in which mode, synchronous or asynchronous, of remote copy each of said storage apparatuses is operating with respect to a corresponding storage apparatus.